Renewables fund raises £57m equity September 8, 2008 One of Europe’s largest green venture capital funds is to be raised by London-based WHEB Ventures, it will today be announced. Some of Britain’s most prominent business families, including Lord (Jacob) Rothschild of the banking dynasty and Simon Robertson, Rolls Royce chairman and former head of Goldman Sachs Europe, have already invested in the Cleantech [...]
Richard Fahey sprinter deserves Utmost Respect September 5, 2008 Even though protective covers have been laid out all over the track since last Saturday, the ground at Haydock tomorrow will still be really testing. Don’t for one minute that when the officials remove all the sheets, they are going to reveal a decent surface. The ground was already bottomless when they laid out the [...]
England to be low scorers against Andorra September 5, 2008 England are a best priced 1/50 with Ladbrokes to see off a side ranked 186th in the FIFA World rankings. Incidentally, the “hosts” can be backed at a massive 80/1 with Boylesports to win the game and the draw is a top priced 30/1 with Betdaq. Andorra have avoided defeat in only three of their [...]
Why equities have further to fall before they eventually recover September 5, 2008 Despite a strong August, investors must remain very cautious, warns Abigail Townsend For the City’s dwindling band of optimists, August was a surprisingly good month. After hefty falls for most of the summer, the FTSE 100 rallied from lows of below 5,100 in early July to close at 5,362 yesterday, a 5.14 per cent gain [...]
Brown needs to improve or quit, says former Home Secretary Clarke September 5, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown should stand down as party leader if he cannot improve his government’s performance in the coming months, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke said yesterday. Clarke said Labour was heading for “disaster” at the next election if it did not change course. In a rare outbreak of dissent within the party, Clarke [...]
Met chief denies he is to be sacked September 5, 2008 Sir Ian Blair denied rumours he will be axed as Metropolitan Police chief in a statement given yesterday outside Scotland Yard’s headquarters. Newspaper reports said ministers and other police chiefs were secretly planning to remove Blair, who has been dogged by controversy since taking over as chief in February 2005. The first action would be [...]
Boeing’s largest union votes to strike over pay and health benefits September 5, 2008 The largest union of American plane maker Boeing has rejected a new contract over pay and conditions, giving the management 48 hours to improve the deal or face a damaging strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in Seattle last night that 80 per cent of the voters opposed the contract and [...]
Aviva cuts final payout for Norwich Union policy holders by 10 per cent September 5, 2008 Norwich Union, part of giant British insurance group Aviva, will slash its final policy payout by 10 per cent, in a move that will affect 2.4m policyholders. Norwich said yesterday its terminal bonuses would be cut by as much as 10 per cent after its funds were hit by faltering stock markets, commercial property and [...]
Co-founder of RAB stands aside as CEO September 5, 2008 Philp Richards, the co-founder of troubled hedge fund RAB Capital, is stepping down as chief executive to focus exclusively on its special situations fund. RAB shares have plunged 37 per cent in the last six months after being hit by a series of bad investments – including a significant shareholding in beleaguered Northern Rock– and [...]
Informa says no to revised cut-price bid September 5, 2008 Informa last night rejected a cut-price bid from a private equity consortium, led by Providence, slamming the 450p a share offer as “significantly undervaluing” the publisher. City A.M.’s exclusive revelation yesterday that the consortium had slashed its initial bid by more than 10 per cent to 450p a share caused a stir in the financial [...]
